SmartyPants Multivitamins Not as ‘Complete’ as Advertised, Class Action Claims

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A proposed class action alleges SmartyPants multivitamins are not nearly as “complete” as advertised given they do not contain a number of essential nutrients. 

The 37-page suit against SmartyPants Healthy Minds, Inc. claims the company has “cheat[ed] customers” by touting its multivitamins as “complete” and providing “essential” nutrients even though they lack, for instance, vitamins K, B-12 and B-3, which the case notes are among the 13 vitamins the FDA has identified as those the body absolutely needs. 

At issue in the lawsuit are the following SmartyPants multivitamins whose labels include the representation that they are “complete.” The filing alleges that none of the purportedly “complete” products contain all 13 of the FDA-recommended essential vitamins:

• SmartyPants Kids Complete Multivitamin; 
• SmartyPants Kids Complete and Fiber Multivitamin; 
• SmartyPants Organics Vegetarian Kids Complete Multivitamin; 
• SmartyPants Organics Vegetarian Kids & Toddler Complete Multivitamin; 
• SmartyPants Teen Guy! Complete Multivitamin; 
• SmartyPants Men’s Complete Multivitamin; 
• SmartyPants Men’s MO Complete Multivitamin; 
• SmartyPants Masters Complete Multivitamin for Men 50+; 
• SmartyPants Masters Complete Multivitamin for Women 50+; 
• SmartyPants Adult Complete Multivitamin; and 
• SmartyPants Adult Complete and Fiber Multivitamin.

The plaintiffs’ claims lean predominantly on established FDA guidance on the importance of certain vitamins for overall health. The agency has specified that the 13 vitamins the body absolutely needs are vitamins A, C, D, E, K, B-1, B-2, B-3, B-5, B-7, B-6, B-12 and B-9, the case relays. 

Per the complaint, SmartyPants has labeled the multivitamins at issue as “complete” and able to offer “essential” daily nutrition and “aid bones, energy and digestion” despite the fact that the products lack a number of the 13 aforementioned vitamins. The suit also stresses that none of the multivitamin labels expressly state that the product is “incomplete,” or otherwise disclose that not all of the essential vitamins are present. As a result, a reasonable consumer who viewed the products’ supplement facts would “not have any reason to know or suspect” that they are being deprived of some of the vitamins the FDA has deemed essential, the lawsuit says. 

The case looks to cover a proposed class that includes all persons in the United States who, within the applicable statute of limitations period, bought any of the SmartyPants multivitamins listed above. 

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